~Exfoliating Oatmeal M&P Bars~
Goat Milk Melt & Pour Soap Base is among one of our most favored soap bases.
Moisturizing, rich in nutrients and minerals... who doesn't love that?!
While there are endless ways to dazzle and customize your soap bars, adding oatmeal for a natural gentle exfoliate brings any bar of soap to a level of sheer perfection!
Materials you will need:
~ FD&C Cosmetic Colorant (optional)
~ 2cup Glass Pyrex Cup
~ Quick Oats Oatmeal
Start by cutting the block of soap base into small squares for easy handling. Each block of base is just 2lbs and is already scored, making cutting much easier.
When deciding how much fragrance to use, keep in mind that 1/2oz of fragrance is recommended for each pound of base. With each block being 2lbs, you will need to choose 1oz of soap safe fragrance oil. I chose to use Cucumber Melon (which smells AMAZING!)
When making small batches, one half pound of soap base fits nicely into a 2cup Glass Pyrex measuring cup. This is the perfect amount to start working with, when first starting out with making M&P soap bars.
The easiest way to melt the soap base is right in a microwave. When choosing this method, be sure to only heat the base for 30 second time periods at a time, stirring between each time. To fully melt one half pound of base, this should take just roughly 1.5-2 minutes. The finished melted soap should be right between 130°-140°F. Watch closely not to get your base too hot!
Once the base is completely melted to the appropriate temperature, add the fragrance oil and cosmetic colorant. Be sure to mix thoroughly! When adding colorant, start by adding just a couple drops at first, then additional drops until you reach the desired shade you are looking for.
After the fragrance oil and colorant has been fully mixed into the base, go ahead and add the oatmeal. I prefer to use the smaller quick oats rather than the larger old fashioned oats, as the smaller oats turn more soft after a short time being in the hot base, creating a gentle exfoliate rather than the larger oats that tend to stay a bit more firm.
Note: As soon as the oats have been mixed into the base, you'll see that the oats tend to sink to the bottom of the mold rather than stay suspended within the soap. If you prefer that the oats stay suspended in the soap rather than sink, pouring at a cooler temperature will help achieve this.
Once the soap has been poured into the molds, you may sometimes notice bubbles gathering at the surface. Bubbles tend to happen due to the mixing stage, however if you want to rid the surface of bubbles, you may use a fine mist spray bottle filled with rubbing alcohol to spray onto the surface of the soap, removing any bubbles that may have accumulated.
Allow the soaps to cool at room temperature until completely cooled, about 4-5 hours. While waiting for the bars to cool, clean-up is a breeze! For obvious reasons :). All you need is warm water!
Once completely cooled and solidified, you may need to pull the edge of the mold back to help the soap to release.
For packaging your soaps, you will want to keep your soap in a cool dry place. Rather than sealing the soap completely with plastic shrink wrap, a plastic cello bag is a great choice for packaging and displaying Melt & Pour soap. Beautiful! :)
If there is ever a fun Candle, Soap, or Body product that you would like
seen made, we would LOVE to hear from you! Send us a request at
info@candlesupply.com today!
Happy Soaping!
-Elya
